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The Seattle Seahawks aren’t messing around.
On Saturday morning, Seahawks General Manager John Schneider rung the bell on what is currently the biggest trade of the NFL regular season nabbing wantaway EDGE Jadeveon Clowney from the Houston Texans.
Clowney has been pining for a move since March when the Texans put a franchise tag on him. Without a general manager, Houston has fallen behind in contract talks and clearly ended up on the losing end of this deal as they pulled DE Jacob Martin, LB Barkevious Mingo, and a 2020 NFL Draft 3rd-round pick for Clowney:
Would you rather have?
— Samuel Gold (@SamuelRGold) August 31, 2019
A) Frank Clark ($20.8m/yr for 5 yrs) + 2020-3rd + Jacob Martin + Barkevious Mingo
OR
B) Jadeveon Clowney ($16m franchise tag) + L.J. Collier + 2020-2nd
I am taking (B) every single time. A+ moves by #Seahawks John Schneider. Simply incredible.
The move bolsters a front seven that will face the Los Angeles Rams twice a season and will no doubt give the Rams’ offensive line problems:
New #Seahawks pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney has been training in Florida all summer, and according to someone who has watched him, is in better shape than he’s been in in years. Seattle will get a game-ready pass-rusher.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2019
Clowney joins DT Jarran Reed, DT Poona Ford, DE Ziggy Ansah on the line and LB Bobby Wagner, LB K.J. Wright, and LB Mychal Kendricks in the second level. They also have first-round pick L.J. Collier.
This move speaks to me as a reminder that 1) the Seahawks are not going to accept being second fiddle to the Rams and 2) Schneider is a great general manager:
John Schneider began this offseason with four draft picks and Frank Clark and ended it with 11 draft picks (including three in the first two rounds) and Jadeveon Clowney. #Seahawks
— Aaron Levine (@AaronQ13Fox) August 31, 2019
The last two seasons saw the Rams shift the power structure of the division and did so with a smart front office and coaching staff working in unison. The partnership between Head Coach Sean McVay and General Manager Les Snead was a force to be reckoned with and still is. But I feel like the Rams’ success has made people forget that Seattle’s head coach and general manager, Pete Carroll and Schneider, have been building good football teams since 2010. Their success wasn’t as immediate as McVay and Snead’s, but it has certainly been in place for longer.
A move like this reminds everyone that they still know what they’re doing. They still know how to build good football teams.
And they’re coming for everyone.